Heart Tips Tuesday - Pumpkin Butter Recipe

(Isn't this gorgeous - compliments of Public Domain photos)

Morning Sweet Friends,

So how are ya today???

I feel like I am still trying to wake up for some reason!!  lol

Hmmm.....Maybe I need breakfast......Be back in a bit!!  lol

I'm back......and guess what I had for breakfast???

A peanut/pumpkin butter sandwich, they are really great!!

 and go wonderfully well with a cup of coffee.

We are practicing Fall over here already!!  lol

A few of you asked if I was gonna share the Pumpkin

Butter recipe,  so I am here to say Yes,  I am!!

I have made it with several different recipes,  but

this year I found one that was made with agave

syrup instead of sugar,  most pumpkin butter recipes

 call for about 4 1/2 cups of sugar,  course, I never use

 that much myself,  I usually use about 1 1/2 - 2 cups, 

 but still that is a lot of sugar..... but.agave syrup is like

 a cross between honey and syrup,  but the great thing

 about the agave syrup is it has a low glycemic index,

and low glycemic load, which means it doesn't make

 your blood sugar elevate like sugar does, 

 so decided to try it,  and we loved it!!

So here goes!!

Pumpkin Butter

Recipe was from About.com

Ingredients

1 -15. oz. can pumpkin puree

1/2 cup agave syrup 

(note: 1/2 cup agave vs 4 1/2 cups sugar)

(you can get it at the health food store but I actually

found it at Wally World in the syrup section)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

pinch of salt (didn't use that myself)

Below are my tweaks to the recipe, which are

of course, optional

1/4 slice of lemon or lime - squeeze all the juice

out of it right into the pumpkin mixture.  

No seeds, of course

 (I added this because it helps preserve it longer and

 I like the lil zip it gives to the flavor)

Pumpkin Pie spice

(I added a few shakes of that as well for more flavor)

Directions

Combine the pumpkin and agave nectar in a small 

saucepan over medium heat, mixing until well combined.

Stirring constantly, cook for about 10 minutes, or until

thickened.  Stir in the spices, salt and lemon juice (if desired)

 and cook for about 5 - 10 mins. more.  Remove the pan

 from heat,  and transfer your pumpkin butter to a small

 heat proof dish or jar.

Let cool completely before covering, then refrigerate.

Pumpkin butter will keep about 2-3 weeks in a covered

container in refrigerator.

Makes 2 cups

Warning:  

Stirring is crucial in this recipe to prevent burning your

pumpkin butter.  If you must walk away,  add a few

tablespoons of apple juice and turn down the stove

heat to medium low, still continuing to stir as you can

(add about 5-7 minutes additional cooking time if you

do this).  This info came with the recipe so I wanted

to share it!!

But

if it were me,  I would probably just remove it

from the burner a few mins,  then pick up where

I left off,  when I came back,  especially if I

didn't have apple juice on hand.  That is only if

it was for less than 10 mins. time.  Also I used

my non stick cookware!!

Pumpkin butter is great on toast, on pumpkin

bread, or on top of pumpkin pie, or on top

of cheesecake (haven't tried that yet, just saw

 it on another recipe as a suggestion  for uses,

 but will sure try it soon),  and of course, you can 

also make peanut/ pumpkin butter sandwiches.

Our favorite.

Just make sure to use a natural peanut butter

with no hydrogenated oils,  and a great whole

grain bread to keep it heart healthy.

We would highly recommend Arnolds

Oatnut bread,  and Smuckers Natural Peanut

Butter,  crunchy or smooth.  It only has peanuts

and salt. 

 My son taught me to store it upside down in the

 pantry before you open it,  because it has a lot of

 oil,  that way all the oil isn't on the top when you

 open it and you can mix it in easier. Then it goes

in the fridge. Sometimes I do dump out some of

the oil before I mix it.

Just a note,  there are some downsides to agave

nectar for some people, so it would probably be

 good to read up on it a bit if you decided you

 wanted to use it a lot, or even in this recipe.

This was one site I found.

Click here

Didn't know there was a downside before

I did this whole thing or probably just

would not have posted it,  but they aren't

 for everyone, so hope you can enjoy it!!

Well,  Sweet folks

Hope you have a Agave Sweet Evening!!

Hugs N Blessings,

Nellie